N.O.I.R.
Meet the Band: Vigatron (vocals), San Goodee (vocals) and Phatburner (vocals, production)
The History: These three rappers have known each other for about a decade but only put this group together in the last couple of years after they all had relationships go south at the same time. "Phatburner had the idea that he was either going back into a relationship or becoming a big whore," says Vigatron. "In the event of him doing that, he had the idea for a project that encompassed that reality. It was also based on a real life situation with the little black kid who took his grandmother's car and crashed it. That's where the main concept came from."
Purveyors of Fine Filth: To promote the album, the guys put together a video trailer that features the three rappers lying half-naked on a hotel room bed while clinging to half-empty bottles of booze. The clip includes a scene in which the guys are dressed in sharp black suits. The video offers up a weird mix of debauchery and elegance. "I remember back in the '80s, there was a group called the Dark Brothers who used to produce porn and they called themselves the 'purveyors of fine filth,'" says Vigatron. "We had this idea of being like Prince in Under the Cherry Moon where everything was black and white and elegant but so dirty. It's refined but not so in-your-face horrible. You think we're some nice and respectable guys until we open our mouths."
Why You Should Hear Them: Their new album, Smokin' wit Cigawettes (Doin' Hoodrat Stuff wit My Friends), is a raunchy good time that features x-rated rhymes over well-crafted beats. "People equate it to 2 Live Crew, but it's not harsh. It's not a verbal assault," Vigatron says. "It's raunchy but it's done in such a funny way, that it's very relatable and it's not a smack in the face to them."
Where You Can Hear Them: noir216.com
Where You Can See Them: N.O.I.R. performs at 9 p.m. on Friday, May 5 at Touch Supper Club. — Jeff Niesel
